Demand-Based Dynamic Carrier Scaling

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and computer software are disclosed for demand-based dynamic carrier scaling. In one embodiment a method is disclosed, comprising: determining, at a gateway supporting dynamically created cells in a wireless network, whether there is a requirement for additional capacity; when there is a requirement for additional capacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for additional capacity; determining, at the gateway, whether there is a requirement for less capacity; and when there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for less capacity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/860,051, filed Apr. 27, 2020, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 62/839,083, filed Mar. 26,2019, titled “Demand-Based Dynamic Carrier Scaling”, all of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Thisapplication hereby incorporates by reference, for all purposes, each ofthe following U.S. Patent Application Publications in their entirety:US20170013513A1; US20170026845A1; US20170055186A1; US20170070436A1;US20170077979A1; US20170019375A1; US20170111482A1; US20170048710A1;US20170127409A1; US20170064621A1; US20170202006A1; US20170238278A1;US20170171828A1; US20170181119A1; US20170273134A1; US20170272330A1;US20170208560A1; US20170288813A1; US20170295510A1; US20170303163A1; andUS20170257133A1.

This application also hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Pat. No.8,879,416, “Heterogeneous Mesh Network and Multi-RAT Node Used Therein,”filed May 8, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 9,113,352, “HeterogeneousSelf-Organizing Network for Access and Backhaul,” filed Sep. 12, 2013;U.S. Pat. No. 8,867,418, “Methods of Incorporating an Ad Hoc CellularNetwork Into a Fixed Cellular Network,” filed Feb. 18, 2014; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/034,915, “Dynamic Multi-Access Wireless NetworkVirtualization,” filed Sep. 24, 2013; U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/289,821, “Method of Connecting Security Gateway to Mesh Network,”filed May 29, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/500,989,“Adjusting Transmit Power Across a Network,” filed Sep. 29, 2014; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/506,587, “Multicast and BroadcastServices Over a Mesh Network,” filed Oct. 3, 2014; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/510,074, “Parameter Optimization and EventPrediction Based on Cell Heuristics,” filed Oct. 8, 2014, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/642,544, “Federated X2 Gateway,” filed Mar. 9,2015, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/936,267, “Self-Calibratingand Self-Adjusting Network,” filed Nov. 9, 2015; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/607,425, “End-to-End Prioritization for Mobile BaseStation,” filed May 26, 2017; U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/803,737, “Traffic Shaping and End-to-End Prioritization,” filed Nov.27, 2017, each in its entirety for all purposes, having attorney docketnumbers PWS-71700US01, US02, US03, 71710US01, 71721US01, 71729US01,71730US01, 71731US01, 71756US01, 71775US01, 71865US01, and 71866US01,respectively. This document also hereby incorporates by reference U.S.Pat. Nos. 9,107,092, 8,867,418, and 9,232,547 in their entirety. Thisdocument also hereby incorporates by reference U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/822,839, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/828427, U.S.Pat. App. Pub. Nos. US20170273134A1, US20170127409A1 in their entirety.This document also hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Pat. Nos.9,491,801; 9,479,934; 10,123,232; 10,237,914; 10,264,621; 10,595,242, intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND

Cellular base stations are equipped with transceivers that enable userdevices, called user equipments (UEs), to connect to them to provideservice. The data rate provided is related to the specific amount ofbandwidth that is made available for the UE by the base station, as wellas by the constraints of the specific radio access technology (RAT)standard (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, or other RATs as appropriate).For convenience, throughout this disclosure, bandwidth that is madeavailable for UEs, having a UE-detectable signal and enabled to carrydata, is called a carrier, and the details are dependent on the specificRAT.

SUMMARY

Methods, computer readable medium and systems for demand-based dynamiccarrier scaling are described. In one embodiment a method is disclosed,comprising: determining, at a gateway supporting dynamically createdcells in a wireless network, whether there is a requirement foradditional capacity; when there is a requirement for additionalcapacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells asneeded to handle the requirement for additional capacity; determining,at the gateway, whether there is a requirement for less capacity; andwhen there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by thegateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirementfor less capacity.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable mediumcontaining instructions for providing demand-based dynamic carrierscaling is disclosed. The instructions, when executed, cause a system toperform steps including determining, at a gateway supporting dynamicallycreated cells in a wireless network, whether there is a requirement foradditional capacity; when there is a requirement for additionalcapacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells asneeded to handle the requirement for additional capacity; determining,at the gateway, whether there is a requirement for less capacity; andwhen there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by thegateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirementfor less capacity.

In another embodiment, a system may be disclosed for providingdemand-based dynamic carrier scaling. The system may include a gateway;at least one cell in communication with the gateway; wherein the gatewaysupports dynamically created cells in a wireless network, and whereinthe gateway determines whether there is a requirement for additionalcapacity; when there is a requirement for additional capacity, thenproviding, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handlethe requirement for additional capacity; wherein the gateway determineswhether there is a requirement for less capacity; and when there is arequirement for less capacity, then turning off, by the gateway,dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for lesscapacity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a network diagram in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a flowchart, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic network architecture diagram for 3G and other-Gnetworks, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an enhanced eNodeB for performing the methods describedherein, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a coordinating server for providing services and performingmethods as described herein, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In 4G (LTE), certain specific bandwidths are used, e.g., 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz,5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz are specified as options for an amountof bandwidth to be used for one carrier. As 20 Mhz is a common bandwidthin LTE, commonly-available radio equipment is designed to be efficientfor enabling a 20 MHz bandwidth carrier. As well, different radiofrequency bands have different physical characteristics. These bands arespecific radio frequencies that are identified by governments andinternational organizations as being licensed for cellular use. Sincethe bands are well-known, commonly-available radio equipment is alsoconfigured to be most efficient when used for enabling carriers thatfall into these bands. For LTE, more information is found at 3GPP TS36.101 E-UTRA Operating Bands, E-UTRA Channel Bandwidth, which lateststandards known as of the priority date are hereby incorporated byreference. As well, it is common for radio equipment such as filters,transmitters, etc. to be efficient when a certain minimum power level isused to power the equipment.

It is an objective of network operators to minimize power usage and tooperate power-efficiently, as the cost of electrical power for radiotransmission equipment is often a significant driver of cost. However,since it is difficult to turn off radio equipment even when only a smallamount of data is required to be transmitted, as the certain minimumpower level is required to support keeping a 20 MHz band active, it iscommon for base station equipment to use only a limited subset of radiofrequency bands, and to continue to keep them powered on even when onlya small number of users is connected. Power is also consumed by theradiating element, i.e., the radio, and also by the processing powerrequired for the baseband, and also for cooling and HVAC. All of thesepower factors depend at least in part on the amount of bandwidth beingprovided at the base station. This leads to a certain level of wastedpower and expense. It is a known problem, therefore, to increase powerefficiency and reduce total power draw.

Dynamically lighting up carriers, channels, and/or bands is a potentialway to reduce power consumption. For example, if a carrier is not beingused by any UEs in an active state, very little data need betransmitted, so very little bandwidth is theoretically needed, and powerusage can be reduced, including HVAC, baseband processing, backhaulbandwidth, etc. LTE contemplates various different channel bandwidths,and less than 20 MHz would seem to be needed in this use case. However,it is difficult to dynamically turn on and off carriers usingpresent-day technology. In 3G and 4G, the control channel for thechannel is spread throughout the entirety of the carrier band. Thismakes it difficult to increase or decrease the bandwidth of a channelwithout completely turning the channel off and turning on a new channel.Turning a channel off further entails kicking each attached UE off,which entails control signaling from the UE to the core network, causinga potential signaling storm; waking up the UE via paging if necessary,reducing battery life; and temporarily causing the UEs to be handed overto another base station, which may require additional UE power, etc.Given these constraints, it is very difficult to provide truly dynamicadjustments to the power envelope.

A key insight of the present application is that an individual cell canserve as the unit of capacity increase or decrease, in some embodiments.This approach is not common to network operator planning or radionetwork planning. Typically, cells are statically planned, and aredesigned to be maintained with their power turned on. Cells are plannedto accommodate both the best and worst case scenarios, and thereforehave difficulty coping both with overutilization (overcapacity) andunderutilization (undercapacity, such as at night). Turning cellsdynamically on and off to increase or decrease capacity is thus nottypically contemplated by the prior art. However, a virtualizationgateway located between the RAN and the core network can facilitate thiscapability. The virtualization gateway described in the followingdocuments is capable of facilitating dynamic cells: U.S. Pat. Nos.9,491,801; 9,479,934; 10,123,232; 10,237,914; 10,264,621; 10,595,242,each of which is also hereby incorporated by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes. The virtualization server is also referred tothroughout this disclosure as a Heterogeneous Network Gateway or HNG.

In some embodiments, the virtualization gateway may virtualize the radioaccess network toward the core, such that the core network becomesagnostic to the specific number and configuration of RAN nodes that arecurrently in the network. The virtualization gateway may also virtualizethe core network toward the RAN, such that each RAN node communicateshandovers and inter-cell communication with the virtualization serverinstead of toward the core network. This enables the RAN nodes to befreed from the requirements and limitations of coordination with thecore network. For example, requiring a handover that would potentiallyresult in a signaling storm becomes possible. Instead of a signalingstorm toward the core, the virtualization server transparently proxiesall communications towards the RAN, and silences unnecessarycommunications towards the core network. When put into the context ofthe present disclosure, this enables cells to be turned on and off, andcells to be created and destroyed, without any communication toward thecore network.

In some embodiments, the virtualization gateway is also able to beRAT-agnostic, such that any RAN node can be treated as a RAN of anyparticular RAT. The RAT can be selected based on the capability of theunderlying core network. For example, 2G and 3G RAN nodes can be usedwith a 4G core, or a 5G NSA core, or multiple cores, by presenting themtowards the core as virtual 4G RAN nodes. Any combination of RATs iscontemplated. When put into the context of the present disclosure, thisenables the network operator to have the option to substitute,dynamically, a carrier using one RAT with a carrier using any other RAT.For example, this enables a 20 MHz 4G carrier to be substituted at atime of low usage for a 2G carrier, saving a tremendous amount ofelectrical power and processing power. Or as another example, thisenables a 3G carrier to be dynamically powered down, and instead a 4Gcarrier and a 5G carrier to be brought up at that time to handleincreased bandwidth demands.

Turning to the dynamic creation and destruction of cells and carriers,in some embodiments, this is enabled by: creating a new cell at the RANnode, as a dynamically created cell or carrier, in conjunction with theHNG; performing signaling between the current serving cell (the old cellor old carrier) and the new cell as target cell to handover all UEs tothe new cell; powering off the old cell; and, in some embodiments,performing management of the old carrier in conjunction with the HNG,including one or more of: allocating new carriers as a subset of the oldcarrier; allocating a carrier of a different RAT; allocating a carrierwith different configuration than the old carrier; inactivating the oldcarrier. Configuration of the new carrier may be obtained from the HNG.Virtualization at the HNG may be used to suppress signaling from the RANnode to one or more cores.

The present disclosure also contemplates, in some embodiments: handingover one or more UEs to a new dynamically-allocated carrier at the sameRAN node; suppressing signaling from the one or more UEs to one or morecores to facilitate dynamically allocating a carrier; determiningdesired characteristics of a carrier to be dynamically allocated at theRAN node to serve UEs, at a present time or at a future time; reducingpower usage at a RAN node by using a new carrier allocated as adynamically-allocated carrier at a same RAN node as an existing carrier;determining, at a gateway, whether there is a need for more or lesscapacity at a RAN node; determining, at a RAN node, whether there is aneed for more or less capacity at the RAN node; sending informationand/or signaling from a RAN node to a gateway to facilitate adetermination of whether there is a need for more or less capacity at aRAN node; using a determination of whether there is a need for more orless capacity at a RAN node to activate or inactivate a cell or carrier.

FIG. 1A is a network diagram in accordance with some embodiments. Insome embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1A, a mesh node 1 101, a mesh node 2102, and a mesh node 3 103 are any-G RAN nodes. Base stations 101, 102,and 103 form a mesh network establishing mesh network links 106, 107,108, 109, and 110 with a base station 104. The mesh network aspect ofFIG. 1A is optional and does not need to be present in all embodimentsof the present disclosure. The mesh network links are wireless backhaullinks that can be used by the mesh nodes to route traffic aroundcongestion within the mesh network as needed. The base station 104 actsas gateway node or mesh gateway node, and provides backhaul connectivityto a core network to the base stations 101, 102, and 103 over backhaullink 114 (which may be wired or wireless) to a coordinating server(s)105 and towards core network 115. The Base stations 101, 102, 103, 104may also provide eNodeB, NodeB, Wi-Fi Access Point, Femto Base Stationetc. functionality, and may support radio access technologies such as2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi etc. The base stations 101, 102, 103 may also beknown as mesh network nodes 101, 102, 103.

Coordinating server 105 includes failover servers 105 a and 105 b.Coordinating server 105 is the virtualization gateway described in thepresent disclosure, and is present between the RAN and the core network.Core network 115 may be one or more core networks; may be of any RAT,including 2G/3G/4G/5G NSA/5G SA.

Also shown are is a new dynamically created cell 118, labeled Node-3′.Dynamically created cells are described in detail throughout the presentdisclosure. In operation, if UEs 117 a, 117 b, 117 c are all attached tobase station 103, and if additional resources are needed, cell 103 cancoordinate with coordinating servers 105 to dynamically create anothercell 118 or node-3′. In some embodiments, two cells are created and allUEs are handed over from node-3 to node-3′ and node-3″ (not shown). Thedynamically created cells can be of any RAT, based on the needs andrequirements of the UEs that are attached. In some embodiments, adynamically created cell may be created to enable power reduction, i.e.,when fewer resources are required for use. While one dynamically createdcell is shown, it should be appreciated that any number of dynamicallycreated cells may be used. The number of dynamically created cells maybe increased or decreased as demand requires. In the present disclosure,any method may be used to determine or calculate demand, including:counting UEs; bandwidth required by UEs; peak bandwidth or averagebandwidth; latency requirements; minimum RAT requirements; voice ordata; etc.

The coordinating servers 105 are shown as two coordinating servers 105 aand 105 b. The coordinating servers 105 a and 105 b may be inload-sharing mode or may be in active-standby mode for highavailability. The coordinating servers 105 may be located between aradio access network (RAN) and the core network and may appear as corenetwork to the base stations in a radio access network (RAN) and asingle eNodeB to the core network, i.e., may provide virtualization ofthe base stations towards the core network. As shown in FIG. 1A, varioususer equipments 111 a, 111 b, 111 c are connected to the base station101. The base station 101 provides backhaul connectivity to the userequipments 111 a, 111 b, and 111 c connected to it over mesh networklinks 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 and 114. The user equipments may be mobiledevices, mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, laptopetc. The base station 102 provides backhaul connection to userequipments 112 a, 112 b, 112 c and the base station 103 providesbackhaul connection to user equipments 113 a, 113 b, and 113 c. The userequipments 111 a, 111 b, 111 c, 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, 113 a, 113 b, 113 cmay support any radio access technology such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi,WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced etc. supported by the mesh network basestations, and may interwork these technologies to IP.

HNG to Support Dynamic Cells

One key insight of the present disclosure is that an individual cell canserve as the unit of capacity increase/decrease. We can turn on cells asneeded to provide additional capacity. We can turn off cells as neededas well. This is all managed by the HNG, which provides this capacity.Virtualizes small cells toward the core—the core does not know or carethat these cells are coming online. RAT agnostic—any RAT cell can bebrought online without requiring RAT-specific core, without requiringeach core to be informed. HNG also provides capability to hand usersover from one cell to another as it terminates the user connections.

FIG. 1B shows a flowchart for a method of operation, in accordance withsome embodiments. At 121, determine need for new cell at thecoordinating server using usage information from the RAN node; at 122,create new cell at the RAN node using configuration from coordinatingserver; at 123, suppress signaling toward core network from new cellcreation; at 124, hand over users from existing cell at RAN node to newcell at RAN node; at 125, suppress signaling toward core network fromhandover; at 126, perform management of existing cell: deactivate,allocate new RAT, allocate new subset of band, etc.

In operation, in some embodiments, one RAT functions as the anchorcell—start with one RAT as the baseline for providing a control channel.This control channel can be 2G or 4G (with 2G having the advantages atleast that it is the least computationally expensive and also has widecompatibility; 4G is desirable in some cases as it is flexible forproviding a high level of functionality for a large number of users, andcan be virtualized readily by the coordinating server, and can broadcastextended capabilities or expanded capabilities to UEs that may seek toconnect). The existing cell can be the anchor cell, in some embodiments.Then additional dynamically generated cells can be created inconjunction, either with the same or different RATs. Certain appropriateexamples are provided below.

When more users appear, more throughput is required, more channels, morevoice channels, etc.—start up a new dynamically created cell. Thedynamically created cell exists at the same CWS (base station withvirtualization capability), managed by HNG (coordinating node). Thisavoids the control channel issues. New cell gets allocation of PCI,other control parameters, etc. from HNG, which manages this withoutconsulting core network (i.e., virtualizing the cell from the corenetwork perspective). HNG migrates existing users to the new cell asneeded.

It is appreciated by the inventors that different permutations(different carriers, multiple carriers, different bandwidths) provideonly a small difference in power consumption for commercially-availableRF filters, power amplifiers, and other equipment. Therefore, in someembodiments, the coordinating server may prioritize usage of all 20 MHzof the commonly available 20 MHz carrier, although it may use differentcombinations of RATs, carriers, configurations, etc. to do so. In someembodiments, the use of advanced power amplifiers that consume lesspower when they use less of an available frequency band is contemplated,and reduction of bandwidth used can be used to reduce power usage. Insome embodiments, reduction of electrical power usage can be a metricused to determine the need for more or fewer dynamically allocatedcarriers.

Use Case—LTE

Start with 1 LTE cell, 3.5 MHz. Don't need 20 MHz yet. Results in betterpower efficiency during idle. HNG monitors usage. When usage exceeds athreshold, CWS activates a new LTE cell, also 3.5 MHz, in an adjacentband supported by the same RF chain at the CWS; new cell can bedeallocated when needed. HNG handles migration of users, setup/teardownof new cell. Result: 7.0 MHz of spectrum used, optimal power efficiency.

Use Case: Demand Analytics

We can see which UEs appear on the network and determine their RATcapability based on their SIM or IMSI, etc. for example, if all UEs areable to support 4G, light up additional 4G carriers. If the bulk of theUEs can support high-speed 5G or Wi-Fi transfer, light up 5G or Wi-FiRATs and offload the high throughput users to those cells. Time of day,other usage analytics etc. taken into account so we can programmaticallyturn on or off capacity

Alternatives 2G

Start with 1 transceiver (TRX) for control channel, and dynamicallylight up 2nd TRX, more TRXes based on need. 2G is useful for providingvoice. Dynamically light up 2G carriers to provide voice fallback forLTE or for another RAT. Start with 2G carrier, light up 4G to providedata as needed. 2G is useful for providing/optimizing for voice.

3G

Same as 2G—can use 3G as voice fallback and can light up 3G carriers forvoice fallback; can steer to 4G for more throughput.

5G

5G Standalone core mode only when needed data throughput reaches acertain threshold; otherwise stick with non-standalone and use the LTEcontrol channel. Start with LTE, light up 5G where needed to provideadditional throughput.

Wi-Fi

MIMO. Light up more TRXes. Increase or decrease MIMO targeting. Increaseor decrease Wi-Fi data rate.

Inter-RAT

Move people from 3G, 4G, 5G to 2G if they want to use voice; dynamicallylight up a 2G carrier. Move people from 5G to 4G if data needs aremoderate. Inter-RAT steering based on UE capability. For example, ifseveral UEs want to connect to the base station and the base stationdetermines they are all capable of 4G, shut down other RATs and/or movethe UEs all to 4G (or any other G).

M-MIMO—activate more antenna modules dynamically.

Satellite—Beamspotting, from the sky, for example, a 50 km{circumflexover ( )}2 area in a village. Light up a small area or a big area basedon demand.

Additional Alternatives

Any resources could be dynamically added or turned off using thepresently disclosed idea, e.g., other bands, other resources, TRXes,resource blocks, RATs, frequencies, channels, higher power, lower power,coverage, cell edge augmentation, M-MIMO, beamforming, 3GPP versioncompatibility with a higher Rel. no. (e.g., detect when all UEs arecapable of Rel. 15, light up a Rel. 15 cell, steer all users to the newcell)

Take into account power efficiency of various factors when poweringthings on or off e.g., Baseband, power amplifier/RF chain, edgecoverage, HVAC, RF emissions.

FIG. 2 is a schematic network architecture diagram for 3G and other-Gnetworks. The diagram shows a plurality of “Gs,” including 2G, 3G, 4G,5G and Wi-Fi. 2G is represented by GERAN 101, which includes a 2G device201 a, BTS 201 b, and BSC 201 c. 3G is represented by UTRAN 202, whichincludes a 3G UE 202 a, nodeB 202 b, RNC 202 c, and femto gateway (FGW,which in 3GPP namespace is also known as a Home nodeB Gateway or HNBGW)202 d. 4G is represented by EUTRAN or E-RAN 203, which includes an LTEUE 203 a and LTE eNodeB 203 b. Wi-Fi is represented by Wi-Fi accessnetwork 204, which includes a trusted Wi-Fi access point 204 c and anuntrusted Wi-Fi access point 204 d. The Wi-Fi devices 204 a and 204 bmay access either AP 204 c or 204 d. In the current networkarchitecture, each “G” has a core network. 2G circuit core network 205includes a 2G MSC/VLR; 2G/3G packet core network 206 includes anSGSN/GGSN (for EDGE or UMTS packet traffic); 3G circuit core 207includes a 3G MSC/VLR; 4G circuit core 208 includes an evolved packetcore (EPC); and in some embodiments the Wi-Fi access network may beconnected via an ePDG/TTG using S2 a/S2 b. Each of these nodes areconnected via a number of different protocols and interfaces, as shown,to other, non-“G”-specific network nodes, such as the SCP 230, the SMSC231, PCRF 232, HLR/HSS 233, Authentication, Authorization, andAccounting server (AAA) 234, and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 235. AnHeMS/AAA 236 is present in some cases for use by the 3G UTRAN. Thediagram is used to indicate schematically the basic functions of eachnetwork as known to one of skill in the art, and is not intended to beexhaustive. For example, 5G core 217 is shown using a single interfaceto 5G access 216, although in some cases 5G access can be supportedusing dual connectivity or via a non-standalone deployment architecture.

Noteworthy is that the RANs 201, 202, 203, 204 and 236 rely onspecialized core networks 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 237 but shareessential management databases 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 238. Morespecifically, for the 2G GERAN, a BSC 201 c is required for Abiscompatibility with BTS 201 b, while for the 3G UTRAN, an RNC 202 c isrequired for Iub compatibility and an FGW 202 d is required for Iuhcompatibility. These core network functions are separate because eachRAT uses different methods and techniques. On the right side of thediagram are disparate functions that are shared by each of the separateRAT core networks. These shared functions include, e.g., PCRF policyfunctions, AAA authentication functions, and the like. Letters on thelines indicate well-defined interfaces and protocols for communicationbetween the identified nodes.

FIG. 3 is an enhanced eNodeB for performing the methods describedherein, in accordance with some embodiments. Mesh network node 300 mayinclude processor 302, processor memory 304 in communication with theprocessor, baseband processor 306, and baseband processor memory 308 incommunication with the baseband processor. Mesh network node 300 mayalso include first radio transceiver 312 and second radio transceiver314, internal universal serial bus (USB) port 316, and subscriberinformation module card (SIM card) 318 coupled to USB port 316. In someembodiments, the second radio transceiver 314 itself may be coupled toUSB port 316, and communications from the baseband processor may bepassed through USB port 316. The second radio transceiver may be usedfor wirelessly backhauling eNodeB 300.

Processor 302 and baseband processor 306 are in communication with oneanother. Processor 302 may perform routing functions, and may determineif/when a switch in network configuration is needed. Baseband processor306 may generate and receive radio signals for both radio transceivers312 and 314, based on instructions from processor 302. In someembodiments, processors 302 and 306 may be on the same physical logicboard. In other embodiments, they may be on separate logic boards.

Processor 302 may identify the appropriate network configuration, andmay perform routing of packets from one network interface to anotheraccordingly. Processor 302 may use memory 304, in particular to store arouting table to be used for routing packets. Baseband processor 306 mayperform operations to generate the radio frequency signals fortransmission or retransmission by both transceivers 310 and 312.Baseband processor 306 may also perform operations to decode signalsreceived by transceivers 312 and 314. Baseband processor 306 may usememory 308 to perform these tasks.

The first radio transceiver 312 may be a radio transceiver capable ofproviding LTE eNodeB functionality, and may be capable of higher powerand multi-channel OFDMA. The second radio transceiver 314 may be a radiotransceiver capable of providing LTE UE functionality. Both transceivers312 and 314 may be capable of receiving and transmitting on one or moreLTE bands. In some embodiments, either or both of transceivers 312 and314 may be capable of providing both LTE eNodeB and LTE UEfunctionality. Transceiver 312 may be coupled to processor 302 via aPeripheral Component Interconnect-Express (PCI-E) bus, and/or via adaughtercard. As transceiver 314 is for providing LTE UE functionality,in effect emulating a user equipment, it may be connected via the sameor different PCI-E bus, or by a USB bus, and may also be coupled to SIMcard 318. First transceiver 312 may be coupled to first radio frequency(RF) chain (filter, amplifier, antenna) 322, and second transceiver 314may be coupled to second RF chain (filter, amplifier, antenna) 324.

SIM card 318 may provide information required for authenticating thesimulated UE to the evolved packet core (EPC). When no access to anoperator EPC is available, a local EPC may be used, or another local EPCon the network may be used. This information may be stored within theSIM card, and may include one or more of an international mobileequipment identity (IMEI), international mobile subscriber identity(IMSI), or other parameter needed to identify a UE. Special parametersmay also be stored in the SIM card or provided by the processor duringprocessing to identify to a target eNodeB that device 300 is not anordinary UE but instead is a special UE for providing backhaul to device300.

Wired backhaul or wireless backhaul may be used. Wired backhaul may bean Ethernet-based backhaul (including Gigabit Ethernet), or afiber-optic backhaul connection, or a cable-based backhaul connection,in some embodiments. Additionally, wireless backhaul may be provided inaddition to wireless transceivers 312 and 314, which may be Wi-Fi802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad/ah, Bluetooth, ZigBee, microwave (includingline-of-sight microwave), or another wireless backhaul connection. Anyof the wired and wireless connections described herein may be usedflexibly for either access (providing a network connection to UEs) orbackhaul (providing a mesh link or providing a link to a gateway or corenetwork), according to identified network conditions and needs, and maybe under the control of processor 302 for reconfiguration.

A GPS module 330 may also be included, and may be in communication witha GPS antenna 332 for providing GPS coordinates, as described herein.When mounted in a vehicle, the GPS antenna may be located on theexterior of the vehicle pointing upward, for receiving signals fromoverhead without being blocked by the bulk of the vehicle or the skin ofthe vehicle. Automatic neighbor relations (ANR) module 332 may also bepresent and may run on processor 302 or on another processor, or may belocated within another device, according to the methods and proceduresdescribed herein.

Other elements and/or modules may also be included, such as a homeeNodeB, a local gateway (LGW), a self-organizing network (SON) module,or another module. Additional radio amplifiers, radio transceiversand/or wired network connections may also be included.

FIG. 4 is a coordinating server for providing services and performingmethods as described herein, in accordance with some embodiments.Coordinating server 400 includes processor 402 and memory 404, which areconfigured to provide the functions described herein. Also present areradio access network coordination/routing (RAN Coordination and routing)module 406, including ANR module 406 a, RAN configuration module 408,and RAN proxying module 410. The ANR module 406 a may perform the ANRtracking, PCI disambiguation, ECGI requesting, and GPS coalescing andtracking as described herein, in coordination with RAN coordinationmodule 406 (e.g., for requesting ECGIs, etc.). In some embodiments,coordinating server 400 may coordinate multiple RANs using coordinationmodule 406. In some embodiments, coordination server may also provideproxying, routing virtualization and RAN virtualization, via modules 410and 408. In some embodiments, a downstream network interface 412 isprovided for interfacing with the RANs, which may be a radio interface(e.g., LTE), and an upstream network interface 414 is provided forinterfacing with the core network, which may be either a radio interface(e.g., LTE) or a wired interface (e.g., Ethernet).

Coordinator 400 includes local evolved packet core (EPC) module 420, forauthenticating users, storing and caching priority profile information,and performing other EPC-dependent functions when no backhaul link isavailable. Local EPC 420 may include local HSS 422, local MME 424, localSGW 426, and local PGW 428, as well as other modules. Local EPC 420 mayincorporate these modules as software modules, processes, or containers.Local EPC 420 may alternatively incorporate these modules as a smallnumber of monolithic software processes. Modules 406, 408, 410 and localEPC 420 may each run on processor 402 or on another processor, or may belocated within another device.

In any of the scenarios described herein, where processing may beperformed at the cell, the processing may also be performed incoordination with a cloud coordination server. A mesh node may be aneNodeB. An eNodeB may be in communication with the cloud coordinationserver via an X2 protocol connection, or another connection. The eNodeBmay perform inter-cell coordination via the cloud communication server,when other cells are in communication with the cloud coordinationserver. The eNodeB may communicate with the cloud coordination server todetermine whether the UE has the ability to support a handover to Wi-Fi,e.g., in a heterogeneous network.

Although the above systems and methods are described in reference to theLong Term Evolution (LTE) standard, one of skill in the art wouldunderstand that these systems and methods could be adapted for use withother wireless standards or versions thereof. The inventors haveunderstood and appreciated that the present disclosure could be used inconjunction with various network architectures and technologies.Wherever a 4G technology is described, the inventors have understoodthat other RATs have similar equivalents, such as a gNodeB for 5Gequivalent of eNB. Wherever an MME is described, the MME could be a 3GRNC or a 5G AMF/SMF. Additionally, wherever an MME is described, anyother node in the core network could be managed in much the same way orin an equivalent or analogous way, for example, multiple connections to4G EPC PGWs or SGWs, or any other node for any other RAT, could beperiodically evaluated for health and otherwise monitored, and the otheraspects of the present disclosure could be made to apply, in a way thatwould be understood by one having skill in the art.

Additionally, the inventors have understood and appreciated that it isadvantageous to perform certain functions at a coordination server, suchas the Parallel Wireless HetNet Gateway, which performs virtualizationof the RAN towards the core and vice versa, so that the core functionsmay be statefully proxied through the coordination server to enable theRAN to have reduced complexity. Therefore, at least four scenarios aredescribed: (1) the selection of an MME or core node at the base station;(2) the selection of an MME or core node at a coordinating server suchas a virtual radio network controller gateway (VRNCGW); (3) theselection of an MME or core node at the base station that is connectedto a 5G-capable core network (either a 5G core network in a 5Gstandalone configuration, or a 4G core network in 5G non-standaloneconfiguration); (4) the selection of an MME or core node at acoordinating server that is connected to a 5G-capable core network(either 5G SA or NSA). In some embodiments, the core network RAT isobscured or virtualized towards the RAN such that the coordinationserver and not the base station is performing the functions describedherein, e.g., the health management functions, to ensure that the RAN isalways connected to an appropriate core network node. Differentprotocols other than S1AP, or the same protocol, could be used, in someembodiments.

Although the methods above are described as separate embodiments, one ofskill in the art would understand that it would be possible anddesirable to combine several of the above methods into a singleembodiment, or to combine disparate methods into a single embodiment.For example, all of the above methods could be combined. In thescenarios where multiple embodiments are described, the methods could becombined in sequential order, or in various orders as necessary.

The word “cell” is used herein to denote either the coverage area of anybase station, or the base station itself, as appropriate and as would beunderstood by one having skill in the art. For purposes of the presentdisclosure, while actual PCIs and ECGIs have values that reflect thepublic land mobile networks (PLMNs) that the base stations are part of,the values are illustrative and do not reflect any PLMNs nor the actualstructure of PCI and ECGI values.

In the above disclosure, it is noted that the terms PCI conflict, PCIconfusion, and PCI ambiguity are used to refer to the same or similarconcepts and situations, and should be understood to refer tosubstantially the same situation, in some embodiments. In the abovedisclosure, it is noted that PCI confusion detection refers to a conceptseparate from PCI disambiguation, and should be read separately inrelation to some embodiments. Power level, as referred to above, mayrefer to RSSI, RSFP, or any other signal strength indication orparameter.

In some embodiments, the software needed for implementing the methodsand procedures described herein may be implemented in a high levelprocedural or an object-oriented language such as C, C++, C #, Python,Java, or Perl. The software may also be implemented in assembly languageif desired. Packet processing implemented in a network device caninclude any processing determined by the context. For example, packetprocessing may involve high-level data link control (HDLC) framing,header compression, and/or encryption. In some embodiments, softwarethat, when executed, causes a device to perform the methods describedherein may be stored on a computer-readable medium such as read-onlymemory (ROM), programmable-read-only memory (PROM), electricallyerasable programmable-read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or amagnetic disk that is readable by a general or specialpurpose-processing unit to perform the processes described in thisdocument. The processors can include any microprocessor (single ormultiple core), system on chip (SoC), microcontroller, digital signalprocessor (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), or any other integratedcircuit capable of processing instructions such as an x86microprocessor.

In some embodiments, the radio transceivers described herein may be basestations compatible with a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio transmissionprotocol or air interface. The LTE-compatible base stations may beeNodeBs. In addition to supporting the LTE protocol, the base stationsmay also support other air interfaces, such as UMTS/HSPA, CDMA/CDMA2000,GSM/EDGE, GPRS, EVDO, other 3G/2G, 5G, legacy TDD, or other airinterfaces used for mobile telephony. 5G core networks that arestandalone or non-standalone have been considered by the inventors assupported by the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the base stations described herein may supportWi-Fi air interfaces, which may include one or more of IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac/af/p/h. In some embodiments, the base stationsdescribed herein may support IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), to LTE transmissionsin unlicensed frequency bands (e.g., LTE-U, Licensed Access or LA-LTE),to LTE transmissions using dynamic spectrum access (DSA), to radiotransceivers for ZigBee, Bluetooth, or other radio frequency protocolsincluding 5G, or other air interfaces.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, softwarethat, when executed, causes a device to perform the methods describedherein may be stored on a computer-readable medium such as a computermemory storage device, a hard disk, a flash drive, an optical disc, orthe like. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the presentinvention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing fromthe spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For example, wirelessnetwork topology can also apply to wired networks, optical networks, andthe like. The methods may apply to LTE-compatible networks, toUMTS-compatible networks, to 5G networks, or to networks for additionalprotocols that utilize radio frequency data transmission. Variouscomponents in the devices described herein may be added, removed, splitacross different devices, combined onto a single device, or substitutedwith those having the same or similar functionality.

Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated inthe foregoing example embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the disclosure may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which islimited only by the claims which follow. Various components in thedevices described herein may be added, removed, or substituted withthose having the same or similar functionality. Various steps asdescribed in the figures and specification may be added or removed fromthe processes described herein, and the steps described may be performedin an alternative order, consistent with the spirit of the invention.Features of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. Otherembodiments are within the following claims.

1. A method for demand-based dynamic carrier scaling, comprising; determining, at a gateway supporting dynamically created cells in a wireless network, whether there is a requirement for additional capacity; when there is a requirement for additional capacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for additional capacity; determining, at the gateway, whether there is a requirement for less capacity; and when there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for less capacity.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising migrating at least one existing user to at least one dynamically created cell.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising migrating at least one existing user from at least one dynamically created cells.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the dynamically created cells are Radio Access Technology (RAT) agnostic.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless network is an LTE network having a first LTE cell operating at a first frequency in a first frequency band, and wherein when usage exceeds a threshold, the gateway activates a new dynamically generated LTE cell, operating at a same frequency in an adjacent frequency band.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the RAT is at least one of 2G and 3G, and where additional dynamically created cells are added as one or more of 2G, 3G and 4G.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the RAT is 5G Standalone and is used when needed data throughput reaches a certain threshold; otherwise use 5G non-standalone and start with LTE dynamically created cells and use 5G where needed to provide additional throughput.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising moving users from at least one of 3G, 4G, and 5G to 2G if user is using voice traffic.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising dynamically adding or turning off resources, wherein a resource includes other bands, other resources, transceivers, resource blocks, RATs, frequencies, channels, higher power, lower power, coverage, cell edge augmentation, M-MIMO, beamforming, and 3GPP version compatibility.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions for providing demand-based dynamic carrier scaling, when executed, cause a gateway to perform steps comprising: determining, at a gateway supporting dynamically created cells in a wireless network, whether there is a requirement for additional capacity; when there is a requirement for additional capacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for additional capacity; determining, at the gateway, whether there is a requirement for less capacity; and when there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for less capacity.
 11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions for migrating at least one existing user to at least one dynamically created cell.
 12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions for migrating at least one existing user from at least one dynamically created cell.
 13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions for wherein the dynamically created cells are Radio Access Technology (RAT) agnostic.
 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions wherein the wireless network is an LTE network having a first LTE cell operating at a first frequency in a first frequency band, and wherein when usage exceeds a threshold, the gateway activates a new dynamically generated LTE cell, operating at a same frequency in an adjacent frequency band.
 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions wherein the RAT is at least one of 2G and 3G, and where additional dynamically created cells are added as one or more of 2G, 3G and 4G.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions wherein the RAT is 5G Standalone and is used when needed data throughput reaches a certain threshold; otherwise use 5G non-standalone and start with LTE dynamically created cells and use 5G where needed to provide additional throughput.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions for moving users from at least one of 3G, 4G, and 5G to 2G if user is using voice traffic.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising instructions for dynamically adding or turning off resources, wherein a resource includes other bands, other resources, transceivers, resource blocks, RATs, frequencies, channels, higher power, lower power, coverage, cell edge augmentation, M-MIMO, beamforming, and 3GPP version compatibility.
 19. A system for providing demand-based dynamic carrier scaling, comprising: a gateway; at least one cell in communication with the gateway; wherein the gateway supports dynamically created cells in a wireless network, and wherein the gateway determines whether there is a requirement for additional capacity; when there is a requirement for additional capacity, then providing, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for additional capacity; wherein the gateway determines whether there is a requirement for less capacity; and when there is a requirement for less capacity, then turning off, by the gateway, dynamically created cells as needed to handle the requirement for less capacity.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the dynamically created cells are Radio Access Technology (RAT) agnostic. 